Public Holiday or PTO for Federal Employees?
Does an executive order giving Federal employees a day off constitute a legal public holiday for the mortgage industry? Sadly, no.
President Trump signed an Executive Order on December 11, 2020, that provides that all executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed on December 24, 2020, and their employees excused from duty. President Trump did the same thing last year also. It basically is an executive order that gives the federal employees a day off.
It does not change existing regulations, specifically TILA and TRID, in setting certain disclosure periods based on statutory or regulatory waiting periods or deadlines based on business days, which remain unchanged:
12 C.F.R. §1026.2(a)(6)
6. Business day means a day on which the creditor's offices are open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its business functions. However, for purposes of rescission under §§ 1026.15 and 1026.23, and for purposes of §§ 1026.19(a)(1)(ii), 1026.19(a)(2), 1026.19(e)(1)(iii)(B),1026.19(e)(1)(iv), 1026.19(e)(2)(i)(A),1026.19(e)(4)(ii), 1026.19(f)(1)(ii),1026.19(f)(1)(iii), 1026.20(e)(5), 1026.31, and 1026.46(d)(4), the term means all calendar days except Sundays and the legal public holidays specified in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), such as New Year's Day, the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
So, while the headlines may tout “Federal Holiday,” for the mortgage industry, that “Federal Holiday” does not impact statutory or regulatory waiting periods based on the above business day definition.
In this blog post concerning legal and regulatory matters of interest to the mortgage industry, Sandler Law Group (SLG) provides general information and industry observations that are not motivated by or concerned with a particular past occurrence or event, or a specific existing legal problem of which SLG is aware. Nothing published herein is intended to constitute legal advice and the use of the blog post by a reader shall not give rise to an attorney-client relationship with SLG. SLG expressly disclaims any representation of accuracy or reliability as to the content of this blog post, as well as any obligation to maintain such content over time or to ensure it is free from errors. Brad Cope is the attorney responsible for the SLG content of this blog post. Unless otherwise noted, the attorneys of SLG are not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.